how do i rinse sand

[Captainfester]

i hear people atlk of rinsing new sand. can someone give me the quick an dirty on it?

[albano]

Put a 'workable' amount in a bucket and rinse well...will probably be cloudy thru 4 or 5 rinsings. Can stir and swirl with your hand...I would suggest using RO or old tank water.

[Lynnmw1208]

I think it's a little crazy using RO or tank water for rinsing sand, just my opinion. I took an amount put it into a bucket and rinsed with tap water until the water ran clean. Takes a long time if the sand is really dirty though.

[jerpa]

I also used tap water to rinse my sand. I took the bag it came in and cut the tip of the top two corners off and inserted a garden hose in one. Once you turn the hose on the water pressure suspends all the sand and the water starts flowing out the other hole. Still takes a little while and probably takes more water this way but I found it much easier than the bucket method.

[mykol]

When I did mine I used tap, turns out we have horrible tap. I ended up starting the tank over and after finding with tap, did a small single ro rinse just to clean it up a bit.

[EllieSuz]

I used tap water, but when I was done I let it soak in fresh saltwater for a couple of days, so the salinity wouldn't be way off. If you have chlorine or chloromine in your tap water, you might also want to do a final rinse with some sort of chlorine remover. I can't at the moment remember the name of it, but it's widely available at any fish store.

[Jstdv8]

just use ro in a 5 gallon pail, put your sand in it and when you scoop out the sand to put it in the next tank swish it around din the RO on the way up. Dispose of Ro when you are done

[mess7777]

I used a pillow case to rinse it out, worked like a charm. No mess, just washed the pillow case after i was done and all was good.

Pretty simply, dump the bag of sand in the pillow case, run water through it, eventually it starts running more clean meaning it is "rinsed".....then add sand to your system.

[canrio]

I put a workable amount in a 5 gallon bucket laid it on a 45 degree angle and used a garden hose, keep draining off the cloudy water until clear.

[sjwitt]

Bucket and garden hose... swirled with hands, it takes a while and a lot of water so I don't use RO either.

There are some interesting approaches on this page though, like the pillow case idea from mess7777. I also like the idea of soaking in SW posted by EllieSuz for a couple of days.

I didn't soak because I was setting up a new tank anyway so there was several weeks of cycling ahead of me so the salinity wasn't too much a concern at that stage.

[Sport507]

Take a 5gal. bucket and a garden hose. Start the hose in the bucket and let it fill up and let it start over flowing. Scope the sand out of the bag with a cup and sprinkle it over the top of the bucket like you were salting a baked potato. The dust particles will stay suspended in the flowing water, flowing over the top and the sand will settle to the bottom. You can also use a wire screen strainer to poor the sand through to help separate it. You will need to adjust the flow as not to wash the sand over the top. Fill it about 1/3 full and take your hand and stir it until the water runs clean. Repeat as needed.

[Belmont31R]

I just fill a 5 gal bucket about 1/4-1/3 full of sand, use the garden hose, stick it in the bucket, let it get rear the top and then tilt the bucket over until most of the water is drained out. Not enough for sand to start coming out...just about til the water is just covering the sand. Use the hose again and one hand to swirl the sand around, when the water gets near the top dump that out. I repeat this until the water coming out is mostly clear. Takes about 30 minutes per batch. To drain most of the water out when done I just put the bucket on its side. The sand I use wont fall out but it will take about 5 minutes for the water in the sand to drain out. Cant get it all but most of it. Once the tank has sand and water in it I use Prime and carbon.

[Korrine]

I used tap water a very large mixing bowl. Be sure to rinse sand even if it says Minimal rinse as mine did. Still was quite cloudy so I'm glad I rinsed it.

[jeanietn]

I am sorry if this sounds like a dump question. Why are you rinsing the sand? Is it bought sand or sand from the ocean? Just wondering because I did not rinse mine Mine was bought from fish store.
I Wish You Well!!
Jeanie

[albano]

Originally Posted by jeanietn

I am sorry if this sounds like a dump question. Why are you rinsing the sand? Is it bought sand or sand from the ocean? Just wondering because I did not rinse mine Mine was bought from fish store.
I Wish You Well!!
Jeanie

most 'store bought' sand, comes with advise to wash/rinse before use.

[J2T]

I rinsed mine in a 5 gallon bucket and a garden hose. Stuck the hose in the bottom turned it on, stirred it up a few times until it was running clear. I'm starting a new tank so I also let the sand completely dry out before I filled the tank.

[Belmont31R]

Originally Posted by jeanietn

I am sorry if this sounds like a dump question. Why are you rinsing the sand? Is it bought sand or sand from the ocean? Just wondering because I did not rinse mine Mine was bought from fish store.
I Wish You Well!!
Jeanie

If you don't you'll get 'dust' which will either take forever to clear or any little disturbance to the sand bed will cause the tank to look cloudy.


You may have bought a brand that was pre-rinsed or live sand which is not supposed to be rinsed.